living by faith

Neither of us would say that we've enjoyed the past year's lessons on faith. Since we started support raising, we've had several major financial crises (like both cars needing unexpected huge repairs at the same time) and too many months when we didn't know how we were going to pay the mortgage because we weren't receiving full support. One month Becky collected all the change in the cars and the house and deposited it in the bank just so our mortgage would clear. However, we have not missed any major bills, and God has always provided in surprising and exciting ways through unexpected gifts and unusual circumstances.

Over the next 3 weeks, we have 2 major bills due to Home Depot and Lowe's. We thought we were smart by paying for our kitchen cabinets and 2nd floor carpet last year on "no interest no payment for 12 months" deals. We're very careful savers, and we calculated that we'd have plenty of time to save the total amount. However, we did the math based on a full salary and no major crises. So for the past 2 months we've been debating where the money to pay these bills will come from... retirement funds from our previous jobs? a loan from friends or family? a home equity loan? Over the past few weeks, we've had some unexpected opportunities to earn a few extra bucks here and there... slowly moving us closer to our goal. Unfortunately, there is still a large gap, and time is running out. TODAY someone approached Peter with a HUGE job that needs to be completed before July 4 and offered him a large sum of money to complete it. It will require several days and hiring several workers. Peter did the math on supplies and paying workers, and we are pretty sure that the remaining profit will be just a tiny bit more than we need to pay off our debts!

When we get distracted by the busyness and struggles of everyday life, it's easy to forget that God really can take care of every detail of our lives. We're so thankful that despite our lack of faith, God continues to be faithful to us. Some people can't understand the fact that we're in the process of adoption and don't have a single penny in the bank to pay for it. We realize that this seems insane and at times we doubt, but times like today remind us that God will accomplish the things on His heart. We just need to do our best to listen and follow Him. Please praise God with us for His provision!!